Here’s what NC individuals, families and governments can expect from COVID relief bill

As many as 9.1 million North Carolina residents will receive some federal economic stimulus checks as part of the COVID-19 relief bill passed by Democrats in the U.S. House on Wednesday.

The $1.9 trillion package, which passed the Senate on Saturday, is President Joe Biden’s top legislative priority. Biden signed the bill Thursday.

Americans could see additional money in their checking accounts before the end of the month, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

“The first batch of payments will go to all taxpayers who provided direct deposit in their 2019 or 2020 returns, followed by taxpayers who didn’t provide that information, but for whom the IRS has payment information from other programs,” she said Tuesday.

Under the American Rescue Plan, as the legislation is called, a family of four could receive $5,600 — or $1,400 per person. The bill also includes $300 per week in federal unemployment benefits, which run through Labor Day, and monthly child-credit payments of $250 to $300 beginning this summer.

More than 6.5 million North Carolina adults and 2.6 million children in the state will receive all or part of the stimulus checks, according to an analysis by The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

The full $1,400 checks will go to individuals earning less than $75,000, heads of households earning less than $112,500 and joint filers earning less than $150,000. The payments are reduced more quickly than in previous packages, and those earning more than $80,000 (individuals) or $160,000 (joint filers) will not receive any stimulus.

Each dependent will also receive a $1,400 check.

“The American Rescue Plan will deliver needed aid to individuals, families, workers, businesses, and health care systems. I’m proud that this Congress has taken such swift action to get this important work done,” said Rep. Deborah Ross, a Wake County Democrat.

Child tax credit

The bill also includes a revamped and increased child tax credit, pushing it from its current $2,000 to $3,000 per child and $3,600 for children under the age of 6. Instead of the typical credit on annual income tax returns, the government will send monthly checks beginning in July and through the end of the year with the rest available as a tax credit on the 2021 return.

The credit is only for one year, though some Democrats are already pushing to make it permanent.

More than 40% of North Carolina children live in poor or low-income households, according to advocacy group NC Child. That includes 60% of Black children and 64% of Latino children, said Michelle Hughes, executive director of NC Child.

“This plan is really a game-changer for North Carolina kids. We’ve not really seen public policy addressing poverty on this scale in our lifetimes,” Hughes said. “It will lift millions of children out of poverty and dramatically improve the trajectory of their lives and improve outcomes for them.”

More than 2.1 million North Carolina adults and nearly 2.5 million children stand to benefit from the credit, according to The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

Democratic Rep. G.K. Butterfield of Wilson called the tax credit “an historic change.”

The credit is available to individuals making less than $75,000 or joint filers making less than $150,000. The credit also extends to more lower-income families with little or no tax liabilities who previously weren’t receiving the credit.

“Child poverty is seen and perceived as this intractable problem that is just with us. It’s just something we have in our communities. But really it’s a policy choice that we’re making,” said Hughes, who has been working in the field since the mid-1990s. “You can make a different policy choice and really impact child poverty in an enormous and significant way.”

Partisan differences

New polling indicates that the measure is popular with voters across party lines despite unified opposition from Republicans in Congress.

Republican lawmakers have argued that the package is not targeted enough and contains spending that is not related to COVID-19 relief. Some of the money in the bill for schools, for example, won’t be spent until 2028.

The bill passed Wednesday on a 220-211 vote. No Republicans voted for the package and one Democrat voted against it. North Carolina’s delegation voted along party lines. Republican Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis voted against the legislation, which passed the Senate on a party-line vote.

“This legislation is nothing more than a wish list of giveaways for the Democrat Party’s very liberal wing under the guise of COVID-19 relief,” said Rep. David Rouzer, a Wilmington Republican.

The bill includes additional money for states that expand Medicaid and subsidies to help people buy health insurance, billions for food, rent and mortgage assistance and nearly $200 billion for education from child care through higher education. Republicans want the money directed toward schools that are open or reopening.

Republicans said there is more than $1 trillion in unspent funds from previous bipartisan coronavirus relief bills.

“The litany of poor priorities goes on and on in this legislation. It is comprised of its legions of wasteful spending when we are already breaking the backs of our children and grandchildren with massive debt,” said Rep. Greg Murphy, a Greenville Republican.

Money for state and local governments

The bill also includes $350 billion for state and local governments, many of which are enjoying surprising surpluses during the coronavirus pandemic.

North Carolina is scheduled to receive nearly $9 billion in aid for state government ($5.2 billion), metro cities ($672 million), other non-county governments ($682 million) and county governments ($2 billion) as well as $277 million for capital projects.

The following are estimated amounts for cities and counties provided by congressional Democrats:

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This story was originally published March 10, 2021 at 2:14 PM with the headline "Here’s what NC individuals, families and governments can expect from COVID relief bill."

Brian Murphy

The News & Observer

Brian Murphy is the editor of NC Insider, a state government news service. He previously covered North Carolina’s congressional delegation and state issues from Washington, D.C. for The News & Observer, The Charlotte Observer and The Herald-Sun. He grew up in Cary and graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill. He previously worked for news organizations in Georgia, Idaho and Virginia. Reach him at bmurphy@ncinsider.com.